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First I urge you to read the bio for this character as it is the starting point for WarLock's

read it yet?

Good

Then I will continue

--------------

From HE to WarLock

As the HE form begins to surface more and more Kalin eventually becomes fully conscious of his evil actions and he is horrified at what he has become, but still he is powerless to prevent his actions when the evil souls take control of him. Trapped within his own body Kalin can only watch in horror as the force of evil called HE unleashes unspeakable evil upon the two worlds of Eternia and Etheria.

Indeed it is in Etheria that the supposedly final battle with HE takes place. Because HE is a threat to everyone it is decided that everyone should join forces temporarily to fight him. This means He-Man and the Masters and the members of Etherian Rebels working side by side with Skeletor and his evil warriors and with Hordak and the Horde.

As expected the fight between HE and this new alliance is a tense one with lives lost and soon HE's power levels are dropped so low that it seems victory is within the grasp of He-Man and the alliance, but nobody could have predicted what HE would do to buy time. He makes his way to a large city that is populated by thousands where he unleashes a blast of energy far greater than anyone has ever felt before, a blast comparable to several nuclear bombs going off. The populace of the city don't even have time to scream before the magical shockwave of dark energy tears down the buildings around them, rips flesh from bones and turns bones to dust. In a single act of evil HE massacres a city of over ten thousand people.

But this act of great evil would also prove to be his greatest mistake.

So much energy is used that HE reverts back to his Kalin form, but this time the stone is too weak to hide this fact from He-Man, Castaspella and Lighthope who had arrived at the destroyed city ahead of the others just in time to see HE's transformation into Kalin. Naturally the three heroes are shocked to learn that HE is nothing more than a child, He-Man is even more shocked as he recognises the young boy as the friendly helpful lad that works in his fathers kitchens back on Eternia.

He-Man approaches Kalin and tells him that he has come to help him, but Kalin tells him to stay back and that the only way to save him and everyone else would be for He, and also Kalin, to be destroyed. He goes on to say that unfortunately the only person with the power to destroy HE...is HE.

But as luck would have it Kalin tells the heroes that there is still a chance. There is a brief window in his transformation into HE where he has access to some of HE's powers. Feeling the transformation starting to take place he tells He-Man and the others to back off. His plan, to form a cocoon of magical energy that would surround his body and implode just as Kalin turned into HE with enough force to destroy him for good..

So just as Kalin begins to turn into HE, Kalin takes the opportunity and the cocoon is formed. Desperate to save the innocent life of Kalin He-Man quickly looks to Light Hope and Castaspella for help. Quickly they work together to cast a spell that will save Kalin.

There is a blinding flash and Kalin / HE is gone.

- - - - - -

Believed to be dead by everyone, a funeral is held for Kalin and the other victims of HE in both Eternia and Etheria.

But they were all wrong. The spell woven by Light Hope and Castaspella did indeed work but it also interfered with Kalin's self sacrificing method of destroying HE. At the moment HE was hit by the massive implosion of magical energy that was meant to destroy him...Kalin was magically teleported to a distant location back on Eternia where he fell into a deep coma that he would remain in for many years.

Still Kalin would not remain in a coma forever and would once again come face to face with the mighty He-Man

This would occur in the distant future when Hordak had finally succeeded in conquering Eternia. Accidentally magically teleported into the future by Skeletor during an attack on Castle Greyskull He-Man finds Eternia to be a dark and desolate place under the iron rule of Hordak. He decides almost instantly to help fight back against Hordak and help the Eternian rebels take back Eternia whilst at the same time searching for a way to get back so that he can prevent Hordak from ever taking control.

One of the rebels he meets is a strange young boy by the name of WarLock who is around 12 years of age with purple hair and red skin and who wields incredible magical abilities and who has tremendous physical and fighting prowess... a boy with a strange and familiar look to him.

He-Man asks WarLock if he has ever heard of a great evil known as HE and learns a terrible secret.

HE and WarLock are one and the same.

When Kalin was ripped away from the attack that was meant to kill HE it had the undesired effect of keeping the souls alive within him. But with the benefit of this time Kalin being in control of the power of the covenant, albeit with the strange side effect of turning his hair purple and skin red.

However the evil known as HE still exisred but was kept in check and remained harmlessly within Kalin / WarLock just so long as he was careful of his actions.

As explained to He-Man, WarLock draws his power from the souls that created HE, but this also temporarily gives some power back to them. By using only a limited amount of his abilities he is able to maintain control of his body and use his new abilities to help others and atone for all the evil and despicable things he did as HE.

But if he was ever to use too much power the dark souls would resurface and HE would return...even darker of soul and more powerful than HE was before.

- - - - - - -

Okay so He-Man, WarLock and the Eternian rebels fight the evil Horde and eventually win. WarLock then reveals that he may be able to send He-Man back to his own time.

He casts the spell but something goes wrong. Instead of just He-Man going back in time WarLock is also dragged along for the ride.

Ending back in what we would call present day Eternia, WarLock immediately tries to travel back to the future but finds he is unable to do so for some unknown reason. So with no way to get back home he decides to join the masters. Still he does not give up trying and he keeps on trying to find a way back home.

To that end he travels to Etheria and seeks the help of Light Hope. Light Hope reveals a spell that will move a person from one point in time to another, a spell that requires a drop of blood as it works using the essence (DNA) of the intended time traveller...in this case Kalin.

So Kalin draws a magic circle and places a single drop of his own blood in its center. Then drawing upon his magical energies he begins to cast the spell. However as is usually the case the spell does not go according to plan. Instead of returning WarLock to the future as was expected it instead brings forth from the past someone else who shares the combined dna / essence of Kalin and the Covenant... WarLock finds himself face to face with....HE

-------------

Personality wise WarLock hardly ever smiles. People who are unaware of his past tend think that he is just miserable boy who should get out more nad have some fun. They are unaware that he has to live with the terrible memory of massacring tens of thousands of people while possessed by the evil souls of the covenant... a dark memory that makes finding reasons to smile very hard to come across

This is a bit of a departure from our generally more serious bios, since it mainly aims to make people laugh. However, a lot of what is in there is actually how I would imagine a person in that situation reacting.

Scare Glow

A few months after the destruction of the mystical barrier separating the Light and Dark Hemispheres of Eternia, Triklops burst into Skeletor’s throne room in Snake Mountain. Breathlessly he told Skeletor that he had been exploring some caves in the Dunes of Doom and he’d come across what appeared to be a crypt. When attempting to walk into the crypt, he was nearly killed when a mystical bolt shot out at him, seemingly coming from out of nowhere. Skeletor sat back, stroking his bony chin, deep in thought. After a few moments, he shot Triklops with a bolt of otherworldly pain, for not knocking first. When Triklops was done writhing in agony, he told Triklops to guide him to the crypt.

Arriving at the crypt, Skeletor quickly did away with the mystical protections. He walked forward and looked at a stone carving, written in an archaic Eternian language. Triklops asked Skeletor what it said, and Skeletor told him that it said that the tome was the resting place of a powerful Wizard who had lived twelve hundred years ago, named Skairglo. Not much more was said about Skairglo, other than the fact that he was known for being rather vain. Skeletor then said that if he could somehow bring Skairglo back to life, his power would make him a valuable minion.

Opening the sarcophagus, Skeletor looked into the darkness within. Casting a spell of illumination, he saw the skeletal remains of Skairglo. Skeletor surmised that he would be able to bring Skairglo back to life, because it appeared that his body had been encased in a number of strange magicks, allowing for his eventual return. Apparently the magic used was far from perfect, as the body had still rotted away, leaving nothing but bones.

Skeletor then told Evil Lyn what she would have to do. Combining their powers, the bones in the tomb were showered with an ethereal power. Looking down, they could see that the bones had begun to glow, likely in response to the magic used to bring them back to life. Eventually the bones began to rattle and shake; the skull’s mouth opening and closing repeatedly.

Triklops: Does it ever seem strange to you guys how so many of us seem to have given names that end up in some way predicting our future paths? I mean... this guy is named Skairglo and now he’s kinda scary looking. And he glows.

Skeletor: Good point. I mean, look at Evil Lyn. She was Evelyn. And what the hell were my parents thinking when they named me Skeletor? Oh wait... I was named Keldor. Which actually does sort of sound a bit like my current name, when said by a drunk, slurring his words. How the hell could she had known?

Triklops: I blame Mattel!

Skeletor: ... never ever bring up the names of the Elder Gods again.

Triklops: *looking at the shaking Skeletor* What is he doing?

Evil-Lyn: I think he is trying to talk.

Skeletor: hmm... I suppose that is difficult, his larynx having rotted away long ago. Let’s see if we can fix that. *casts a spell to give Scare Glow speech*

Scare Glow: AHHHHHHHH

Skeletor: Oh... I imagine not having any skin must be rather painful. I know it sure hurt like hell when I lost my face. *Skeletor then cast a spell, taking away Scare Glow’s pain*

Scare Glow: I’M BLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIND.

Skeletor: Oh right. People usually need eyes to see. It’s been so long since I had some of my own that I had forgotten that. Let’s see if I can fix that *casts a spell giving Scare Glow sight*.

Scare glow then looked to his side, seeing his appearance reflected in a silver shield that had been placed into his crypt. Shrieking, “I’M HIDEOUS”, Scare Glow then started to make a strange choking noise.

Evil Lyn: What is he doing?

Skeletor: I think he’s crying. It’s pretty hard to tell without the tear ducts. Scare Glow, stop whining, you’re not the only one who has to look like this.

Scare Glow then looked at Skeletor and made a comment about how he missed his hair. Skeletor then told Scare Glow that his own hair was absolutely wondrous, certainly more impressive than Scare Glow’s, yet he had learned to live without it.

After some time, Scare Glow finally came to terms with his loss. Donning a large, black robe, Scare Glow left the crypt with Skeletor, ready to start a new life, or un-life... or something... basically he’s not completely dead anymore.

Personality and Powers

Scare Glow is a very powerful mage, on the level of Evil Lyn, but his effectiveness is frequently hampered by his intermittent bouts of depression. His greatest wish is to someday find a way to completely restore his body, and that is what he spends most of his spare time trying to do. However, Scare Glow is still vain, and is constantly waxing his skull, feeling that the shine makes him somewhat more presentable.

LOL, you did the same thing with his name that I was thinking when I created a background for him. I spelled it S'Cairglo, though.

This evil slave driver kidnaps children from all over Eternia to use as slaves in his illegally obtained gold mines. He keeps the children under control through a mixture of regular beatings and small implants the are attached to their heads.

Despite his size and strength in battle Tusk Master is a huge coward and will think notjing of hiding behind the children if a fight is not going his way.

Deep under Eternia, far below what is known to the surface dwellers and its denizens as Subternia, lies an almost forgotten race of Rat-Men named the Muridons whose lush and fertile home is giving light by rare crystals that shine with the intensity of a mid-day sun and allow plants to live and thrive.

These peaceful people live side be side with rare Green Rats which they use as both companions and labour, which they are able to do despite the Green Rats small size due to a magic stone that is set into King Gerbalis's royal sceptre. This stone not only lets the king magically control the minds of the Green Rats but also enables him to make them grow to an enormous size (roughly the same size as Battle Cat).

One day an evil Warlord named Skeletor and his band of evil warriors invaded the land of the Muridons, having heard of the Green Rats and the special stone. They planned to take the stone and use the magically grown rats to do their bidding. Quickly these evil warriors dominated the Muridons for they were a peaceful race and not well trained in the art of fighting. Soon all but one Muridon had surrendered, that single one was the young cousin of King Gerbalis... Lord Rodantus and his brave little pet Green Rat named Gutsy.

While his fellow Muridons wanted to surrrender to Skeletor he alone chose to fight. But he quickly proved no match for the fighting skills of Skeletor's warriors. Soon even he was thinking of quitting...that was until the Heroic Warrior He-Man appeared astride his faithful mount Battle Cat, having been sent to the Muridon homeland via a vision of the Sorceress. Inspired by He-Man's courage and determination Lord Rodantus decided to keep fighting and soon the two of them managed to drive Skeletor away.

Lord Rodantus was so inspired by He-Man that not only did he have He-Man's cross symbol painted onto his own armour, he also decided there and then to travel to the surface world to train and fight alongside He-Man and his friends, an idea that He-Man readily agreed to as long as the Muridon King gave his consent. King Gerbalis did so and also gifted Rodantus with the magic stone from his sceptre which he would be able to use to turn his small pet rat Gutsy into a large mount like Battle Cat.

On the surface world Lord Rodantus was introduced to the King Randor, Queen Marleena and the other Masters who quickly agreed to help train the young Lord to become a great fighter.

He was also introduced to Prince Adam. Through his familiar and unique scent Rodantus quickly deduced that Prince Adam was the same person as He-Man but when he noticed that nobody else seemed to be aware of this fact he decided not to reveal what he knew as he realised there must be a special reason it must remain a secret.

ABILIITES

Due to living underground Prince Rodantus (as well as the other Muridons) have many enhanced senses, these include:

Enhanced sense of smell – Rodantus can smell a drop of sweat of half a mile away and was able to deduce that Adam and He-Man were one and the same by his smell alone.

Enhanced hearing – His hearing is on par with the heroic warrior Bat-Ler...which is super powerful

Enhanced night vision – Even tho their home is as bright as the srface world they are still surrounded by dark caves that they frequent often. This means that Muridons have super enhanced night vision which enables them to see in areas of total darkness as clearly as if it was brightly lit.

WEAPONS AND ARTIFACTS

Lord Rodantus has two special items in his possession:

The Growth Stone – This magic stone enables him to make his pet rat Gutsy grow into a large Battle Cat sized mount. When he uses it he calls his pet “Battle Rat” in honour of He-Man's mount

The Rat-Tail Sword – A special sword designed and built by Gwildor and Man-At-Arms. A thin but strong line of metal cord runs through the middle of the blade which has been cut into segments. When a special switch on the hilt is flipped it either tightens the cord, pulling all the segments together to form a regular sword or else if flipped the other way it loosens the cord and lets the segments separate so that it can be used like a bladed whip

Ya I thought that it would make a nice counterbalance for Adam who doesn't seem to want to do much training, whereas Rodantus is very dedicated to it because he wants to be his peoples champion and a valuable member of the Masters.

Of course we know Adam pretends to be lazy to prevent anyone from figuring out that he is He-Man, athough now Rodantus is in on the secret but refuses to say anything in respect to his role model... but at least Teela should be happy to have someone who is actually willing to learn what she has to teach.

Ya I thought that it would make a nice counterbalance for Adam who doesn't seem to want to do much training, whereas Rodantus is very dedicated to it because he wants to be his peoples champion and a valuable member of the Masters.

Of course we know Adam pretends to be lazy to prevent anyone from figuring out that he is He-Man, athough now Rodantus is in on the secret but refuses to say anything in respect to his role model... but at least Teela should be happy to have someone who is actually willing to learn what she has to teach.

I am also interested in seeing the relationships between Rodantus and the other characters.

... it'd also be nice if someone else is reading the thread to see what they think...

Buzz-Off's younger cousin (on his mother's side) from the Ice Mountains of Eternia's north pole.

Ant-Arctic – Heroic Ice Warrior

Bio:

The Cryosite Crystals

When Skeletor one day attacks the city of Eternos with cannons capable of freezing their targets instantly the Andreenid warrior Buzz-Off immediately suspected that they may be powered by a rare form of ice crystal that can be found in the Ice Mountains of Eternia's north pole...Cryosite. These crystals, when harnessed properly, could freeze almost anything, even flames, in a matter of seconds. The battle was intense but with the timely arrival of He-Man it was also short and ended in the heores favour, still something had to be done before Skeletor decided to use his new freezing cannons to attack Castle Greyskull.

Buzz-Off suggested that they travel to the Ice Mountains where they would seek out a race of Insect Warriors that thrived in cold conditions and could even use the cold as a weapon...the Cryonids. In fact they were to seek out an expert in the use of Cryosite crystals...Buzz-Off's cousin Ant-Arctic. So with He-Man and Man-At-Arms accompanying him the three heroes set off for answers.

- - - - -

The Kingdom of the Cryonids

When they arrived at the Kingdom of the Cryonids they found it too had been attacked, no doubt by Skeletor in his attempts to get the Cryosite crystals. The immediately headed to the home of Ant-Arctic to ask what had happened and how Skeletor had managed to get hold of the crystals despite them being a closely guarded secret of the Cryonids (even Buzz-Off only knew about them through his cousin).

Finding Ant-Arctic at his families laboratory the two cousins expressed great joy at seeing each other after so many years. Introductions were made and then they got to the serious matter at hand. Ant-Arctic revealed that the attack and been the work of a rogue Cryonid named Arc-Tick who had betrayed their races secrets to Skeletor in his quest for power. He sought to control the other Cryonids and enslave them to work in the Cryosite mines so that he could sell them to the highest bidder. He had enlisted Skeletor's help with the promise that the lord of evil could take a large supply to power his latest weapon.

Knowing that Skeltor now posed a threat to the whole of Eternia with his Cryosite powered cannons and not just his own home, Ant-Arctic agreed to accompany the heroes back to Eternos and to Castle Greyskull to help in the battle against Skeletor and Arc-Tick

- - - - -

The Ice Battle of Greyskull

He-Man, MAA, Buzz-Off and Ant-Arctic made it to Greskull just as Skeletor and Arc-Tick had begun their assault. The masters fought valiantly but Arc-Tick's ability to blast concentrated streams of sub-zero gases meant that it proved very difficult for them to even get close, only Ant-Arctic whose body had a natural defense to stop it from becoming frozen was able to battle his fellow Cryonid.

The two ice warriors battled intensely and for a long time it seemed neither would gain the upper hand. Still it gave the other heroes the opening that they needed in order to attack Skeletor and destroy the ice cannon. While Buzz-Off and Man-At-Arms kept the overlord of evil busy with their attacks He-Man set his sights on the cannon itself. Ripping open the crystal container he saw that in his attempts to make it super powerful Skeletor had placed all the Cryosite crystals he had obtained within this one weapon, this meant that destroying this one would effectively end Skeletor's cold campaign of terror. So lifting it high above his head, He-Man hurled the cannon into the abyss that surrounds Castle Greyskull.

Knowing that he had been defeated Skeletor ordered Arc-Tick to cease his fight with Ant-Arctic and return to Snake Mountain.

- - - - - -

Ant-Arctic – the Heroic Master of Ice

With Arc-Tick now in the employ of Skeletor the masters knew that they would need someone who could equal the freezing abilty of their newest foe and to that end Buzz-Off decided to ask his cousin to remain in Eternos and join the Masters in their on going fight against evil.

Ant-Arctic agreed knowing that nowhere, even his own home, would be safe as long as Skeletor and his evil warriors remained free...plus he had unfinished business with the evil Cryonid...Arc-Tick.

- - - - - - - - - -

Powers and Abilities

Ant-Arctic like all Cryonids needs freezing temperatures to survive. This however does not mean that he must remain in cold climates like the Ice Mountains. Instead his race have developed the abilty to secrete a sub-zero gas from pores in their bodies that can keep them cool in even in hot environments such as the Sands of Fire. But to prevent their own bodies from becoming frozen solid they also secrete an oily enzyme that coats their body and which acts as an anti-freeze. These two combined gives them the ability to survive in both absolutely freezing and boiling hot conditions.

A secondary function of the freezing gas is their ability to fire concentrated blasts of it (which they usually direct with their hands but are actually capable of releasing from anywhere on their body) at their enemies that can freeze targets in prisons of ice almost as fast as weapons powered by Cryosite crystals.

Ant-Arctic along with his natural freezing powers is also an accomplished warrior that is well versed in many forms of combat which he honed in his youth through play fights and sparring battles with other Cryonids and even his cousin Buzz-Off.

Along with this he is also a keen scientist having been taught by his parents who are considered the greatest experts on the whole of Eternia when it comes to Cryosite crystals and Cryogenic technology (it is even thought by those that know him that Ant-Arctic's knowledge of these surpasses his parents)

- - - - - - - - - -

Family Matters

Ant-Arctic and Buzz-Off are considered cousins but they are not actually directly related. The truth is that Buzz-Off's great grandfather's brother fell in love with and married a Cryonid and is the great-grandfather Ant-Arctic. This means that Ant-Arctic is not 100% Cryonid as he is roughly one eight andreenid. Still the two families have remained close and Buzz-Off and Ant-Arctic see themselves as true cousins and friends.

His Andreenid heritage can be seen via the large pincer he has instead of a right hand...others Cryonids do not have this trait.

Walking into Skeletor’s throne room an exasperated Evil Lyn says, “Skeletor, that insect continues to ask to be in your presence. He won’t go away. Shall I have Beastman or Wrath remove his tongue so that his irritating voice ceases to plague us?”

Slowly shifting on his throne, Skeletor looks to Evil Lyn and says, “What does that irritating little cur want?”

Evil Lyn responds, “He keeps on saying that he has access to something that you will find valuable. Something that will give you an edge against those meddle forces of Randor. I don’t see what he could possible offer us and I think that we should simply skin this fool and hang his remains at the entrance of the castle so as to deter other idiots from irritating us with their inane chatter.”

Slowly stroking the smooth bone of his chin, Skeletor says, “Bring the fool in and let him say his piece. He’s shown courage by coming this far and it should be rewarded by a brief audience with me. And then we’ll flay the flesh from his bones for irritating us.”

Gesturing at Evil Lyn to bring Arc-Tick into the room, Skeletor grasped the havoc staff, ready to snuff out Arc Tick’s life the moment his visit proved to be trivial. Watching the insect-like creature enter the room, Skeletor says, “Insect, if you value your life you will not waste my time.”

Looking towards Skeletor, Arc-Tick says, “My lord, my name is Arc-Tick. I –“ Arc-Tick was then abruptly cut off by Skeletor.

“Insect, I do not care what your name is. Earn the time that you have been given with me.”

“I-I-I…. I come from the Ice Mountains. My people, the Cryonids, have strived there for years and have had little contact with the outside world. Within the mountains there is an ore that I believe will be of great value to you.”

“What is this ore that you speak of?”

“My people discovered this many years ago and we still don’t know much about what it does. We call it ‘ice crystals’. I work for a family that studies them and I believe that...”

Once more interrupting Arc-Tick, Skeletor calls out for Wrath, who was standing outside the throne room and says, “Arc-Tick tell me what it is that you want from me.”

Surprised Arc-Tick says, “What? I didn’t even finish what I was going to say.”

“Answer my question.”

“I am sick of being nothing more than an assistant. I want power.”

“You want the control of your people?”

“Yes.”

Raising his voice, Skeletor calls out to Triklops, who was keeping guard outside the throne room and says, “Triklops, find suitable quarters for our guest.” Looking to Arc-Tick, Skeletor says, “We will have more to talk about later. Be gone.”

After Art-Tick had left the room, Evil Lyn looked to Skeletor and says, “That was rather abrupt. Shall I have him killed now?”

With an irritated tone, Skeletor says, “if I had wanted him dead I would have done so myself. He has proven to be useful.”

“How so? What is this talk of ice crystals?”

Skeletor tilts his head back, looking towards the ceiling for a moment. Slowly lowering his head down to face Evil Lyn he says, “Many years ago, before my… change… Hordak once spoke to me of ice crystals.”

“What are they?”

“Reportedly they are a naturally occurring crystal that has very unique properties. They constantly radiate cold. They can be harnessed by mages to improve their ice-based magic. Also, they can be used when forging weapons. Weapons that can cause frost-bite on contact. The potential power of these crystals is immense.”

“If they are so powerful, why have you never used them?”

“They are extremely rare and difficult to find. Hordak learned of them and sent one of his lieutenants to find it. I tried to find out the location of the crystals but Hordak always guarded that secret closely. I have always suspect that they were to be found in the Ice Mountains but I had no idea where to look.”

“What happened to the person that Hordak sent after them?”

“That is none of your concern.”

“Okay then… if Arc-Tick can help you get these crystals, are you really going to make him leader of his people?”

“That is undecided. If he is as malleable and useful a pawn as Merman then perhaps he can by puppet amongst the Cryonids. Otherwise I’ll just have him killed.”

Wolf and I have gone back to working on the NV and have some stories ready to go. Please leave some comments so we can know what you think.

Princely Duties - Part 1

Duncan stood patiently outside the Royal throne room waiting to be called in. His presence had been requested by King Randor but Duncan knew to wait outside the room until he was called in because Randor was constantly busy meeting with ambassadors from across the land. Eventually one of Randor’s personal bodyguards opened the door and beckoned Duncan to come in.

Randor was sitting at his throne and facing a well groomed, yet somewhat shabbily dressed man. Prince Adam was quietly sitting at the side of the room, observing the proceedings. Randor said, “Duncan, this is Eric. He is the leader of a village called Urdot and has come here representing them.”

Duncan replied, “Urdot? I believe I have heard of it. It’s a small community that harvests glommar roots which to my recollection are a very useful medicinal root used by the healing mages. Urdot is an eight day ride south, is it not?”

Randor says, “That is correct. Eric is here because this past winter was unusually cold. It hasn’t had much effect on their glommar root harvests but it has hurt their ability to plant their wheat harvests due to the soil still being frozen. I’ve told him that I’ll send a caravan with wheat to help them subsist until their own crops can be grown. I would like you to escort the caravan.”

Eric then says, “King Randor I thank you so much for your kindness and generosity. It truly touches me that you would take the time to help a village as small as Urdot.”

Randor says, “There is nothing to thank. Your village is part of the empire of Eternos and we take care of our own.” He then looked towards his guards and said, “Please take our guest back to his quarters. Eric, at dawn you will accompany Duncan and the caravan back to Urdot. In the interim, make sure to explore the capital city. You don’t get many chances to visit and you should enjoy your time here.”

After Eric was led out of the room, Duncan says, “My liege, are you sure it is a good idea for me to accompany the caravan? This mission seems relatively trivial in nature and I believe that the safety of Eternos is best suited with my remaining closer to home.”

“Duncan, I want my subjects to see that they are all important to me. Sending my Man-At-Arms on this mission will help cement that. In these dark times I must lead by example otherwise the people will lose faith. Furthermore, I requested that Adam watch these proceedings because I want him to get some firsthand experience with the art of diplomacy. He and Teela will be accompanying you on this mission.”

“Forgive my questioning your decisions, but are you sure that it is wise to send the crown price of Eternia on this mission? With Skeletor’s forces on the rise it may be dangerous for him to leave Eternos.”

“Duncan, you know as well as I that for the last few months Skeletor’s forces haven’t done much. We can be sure that they are planning something but intelligence reports indicate that they are weeks away from being able to reach the palace at all. Furthermore, Urdot is even further from the Dark Hemisphere than Eternos and all reports indicate that there is no way that their forces could have gotten this far into our territory.”

“You are correct my lord. But may I ask why you also want to send Teela? I understand that Adam needs to learn how to be king, but why do you want her to go along as well?”

With a chuckle Randor said, “Sometimes I think we all forget that she is still a child. It would do get out of Eternos for a bit for reasons other than fighting Skeletor’s forces.”

Duncan says, “You’re right. At times I have felt that she lost some of her childhood by training at such a young age and having to face what she has with Skeletor’s forces. But it’s hard to convince her to do anything but train, she has such a serious disposition.”

Randor looks at Adam and says, “If only our children could rub off on each other a little. Adam, go back to your quarters and prepare for your trip. It will be cold and you’ll need to dress warmly. I recommend leaving Cringer here because I doubt he’ll enjoy going where you are headed.”

Adam replies, “yes father. I’ll go pack.”

Adam then picked up his sword and was about to walk out the room, Randor says, “Adam, leave your sword here.”

“Why father?”

“As much as I try to shield you from the war with Skeletor there may come a time when you need to go into battle yourself. You need to learn to use a variety of weapons and it seems as if the only one you ever consider using at all is that sword. Leave it with me for now and I will return it to you when you return. For this mission choose out something different and make sure to practice with Teela while you are travelling.’

“But dad –“

“Adam, my decision is final. Leave your sword with me. Duncan, you may also go and return to your duties.”

Adam handed over the sword and left, followed by Duncan. Randor was a little puzzled by something. He could’ve sworn that Duncan looked a little displeased when Randor had told Adam to leave the sword, but why would he? If anything, knowing Duncan as he did, Randor would’ve thought that Duncan would agree. Randor thought to himself, “No matter, it was likely just my imagination.”

Looking at the sword that Adam had left him it struck Randor that it had a rather unique design, but looked somewhat familiar. For a moment he wondered where Adam had gotten it but then the issue left his mind when he remembered that he was late for dinner with Queen Marlena. Absent-mindedly leaving the sword by his throne Randor left the room

“Duncan, why didn’t you try to talk my dad out of making me leave the sword? What if He-Man is needed?”

“I wasn’t happy about it either but there was little I could do.”

“You could’ve tried to talk my father out of it. He respects your counsel and might have heeded your advice.”

“Adam, the thing you are forgetting is that your father’s decision makes perfect sense. You should learn how to use other weapons and you should learn to be more resourceful. You and I know that you are He-Man and that you need the sword to gain your power, but he does not. To him the sword isn’t all that significant and if I argued against his wishes without having some sort of cogent argument it might’ve compromised your secret. Besides, he’s right about the trip. There is no reason to think it will be dangerous.”

With an irritated undertone to his voice Adam says, “I guess you’re right…. I still don’t like it though” and leaves Duncan’s study so that he could go home to pack.

“Must Adam always be late? The sun has been up for close to an hour and he’s still not here!”

“Teela, you’ve known Adam since you were a child. You shouldn’t be surprised when he has trouble getting up.”

“Father, I don’t see why he gets to shirk his duties so often. He’s going to rule Eternia someday and he can’t even rule his own body well enough to leave his bed on time!”

As Teela was talking Duncan motioned at her to be quiet but she didn’t notice his signals. Then from behind her she hears a voice, “Maybe if your covers were as comfortable as mine you’d have trouble getting up too.”

Startled Teela turned around to see Adam smirking at her. Her face red with anger she stomped off.

Looking at Duncan, Adam said, “Was it something I said?”

“Adam you know how seriously she takes her duties. Did you really have to show up an hour late today?”

“Well you know me… gotta keep up appearances,” Adam said while winking at Duncan.

“Have you chosen what weapon you’ll carry with you?”

“If it’s so safe why do I even need to carry a weapon?”

“Your father doesn’t see this trip as being a simple vacation for you. Yes he wants you to learn the art of diplomacy, but he also expects you to keep up with your training while away.”

“Uhh… I guess you might as well just give me a spear then.”

After Adam was handed his spear he hopped into the back of one of the wagons and they headed off to Urdot.

Arriving in Urdot Adam saw that the whole village had turned out to greet him. As impressive as that may sound the fact that the village had a population of only forty-four people dampened the grandiosity of it. However, what they lacked in numbers they made up for in enthusiasm. They were thrilled to see that King Randor had sent not only his Man-at-Arms to their small village, but that he also sent his own son. Furthermore, the king was generous enough to send enough food to last them for even longer than the time they believed they would need to get their crop issues sorted out.

That night they cooked as lavish a feast as they could manage to celebrate their good fortune but the festivities would quickly come to an end.

Two men breathlessly burst into the room while Adam was being regaled with a story about how Eric became the village leader. Eric stood up in anger, about to shout at the man, but when he saw the look of fear in the man’s eyes he chose to remain calm and said, “Aaron, take a deep breath and compose yourself. Our guests this evening are Prince Adam, son of King Randor, Duncan, King Randor’s Man-at-Arms, and Duncan’s daughter Teela. What has gotten you so excited and who have you brought with you?”

Taking a few deep breaths the man said, “The other day I was cutting down a tree and my axe broke. We’ve never had good blacksmiths in our community so I decided to ride to Ultor to buy a new one. I left earlier today and was riding to the village when I was came across Francis here riding frantically towards our village.”

Eric then says, “Francis, I don’t recognize you. You are from Ultor I take it?”

Francis looked dazed and shaken up. All he managed was a slight nod. Aaron then continued, “I think he might be in shock. When I met him he was more talkative than now. Raiders attacked his village a couple days ago. They’ve razed it to the ground. Francis might be the only survivor. There was no way to defend against them so he took the best horse that his village had and raced here to warn us because they’re coming after us next. I think he’s the best rider in Ultor but even with the head start we have they’ll be here by a little after sunrise tomorrow.”